Monday, June 10, 2013

Sano and Rosario, moving on up

Miguel Sano during a spring training callupto the major league side in March. He homeredwith his last swing of the bat for theFort Myers Miracle on Sunday.

The Twins were swept in their rain-induced doubleheader Sunday, but the big news came between games, when it was announced that Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario were being promoted to Double-A New Britain.

Eddie Rosario'sslash line inFort Myers thisseasson: .328/.374/.515.

I've said repeatedly here that the single most important thing going on this year in the Twins organization was the task of turning Sano into a usable defensive third baseman and Rosario into a usable defensive second baseman. That the duo could hit was never in question. That they are being bounced up a level in just more than two months suggests that the glovework has progressed nicely.

Doug Mientkiewicz has already had a nice season in his rookie year as a manager, and it's not half over.

The Twins have been known to bring players straight to the majors from Double A, but I don't expect either Sano or Rosario to get a September "cup of coffee" this year, no matter how well they fare in New Britain. I don't think either has to go on the 40-man roster this winter — certainly Sano doesn't — and the Twins can save roster spots by not calling them up this year.

But this certainly puts Sano and Rosario in position to force the issue in 2014. Assuming — and it's reasonable to make this assumption, although hardly certain — that they do as well in Double A as they have in A ball, Sano and Rosario should do no worse than open 2014 in Rochester.

Considering the high level of talent Sano and Rosario possess, Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier would do well to step up their performances quickly.